Peripheral interconnect solutions with video and data transfer capability often require large proprietary connectors and/or multiple connectors and cables. For instance, a laptop might require separate cables to connect to various peripherals such as an external monitor, an external hard drive, an external mouse, etc. Additionally, a laptop may use a separate cable to connect to a power outlet.
In order to reduce the number of cables used to connect a laptop to various peripherals, various systems may implement complicated aggregators or controllers to enable the use of a single cable that transports multiple protocols. These systems may also implement modifications to standard circuitry within various peripherals to enable the use of one cable to connect various peripherals to a laptop.